Rogue Fox Dark Dreams
by SyxxFox
Summary: With Corneria in ashes, planet Katina becomes the stronghold for the Cornerian Military and the Lylatian race. Syxx, is now the only hope for the survival of them all. The only one who can stop the war, is the one who started it in the first place. He's unleashed the Apariods. He's glassed Corneria. One question remains on everyone's mind though. Can Syxx be trusted?
1. Prologue

**Rogue Fox Dark Dreams** **  
Chapter I  
Prologue**  
 _~SyxxFox_

With Corneria in ashes, planet Katina becomes the stronghold for the Cornerian Military and the Lylatian race. A disavowed elite by the name of Syxx, is now the only hope for the survival of them all. The only one who can stop the war and return peace to the entire system, is the one who started it in the first place. He's unleashed the Apariods. He's glassed Corneria. And now he is the one they are depending on to save them all. One question remains on everyone's mind though. Can Syxx be trusted?

Rated for suggestive scenes, coarse language, blood, mild gore.

Welcome to Rogue Fox III, Dark Dreams.


	2. I am Machine

**Rogue Fox Dark Dreams**  
 **Chapter II  
I am Machine  
** _~SyxxFox_

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you to everyone for all your support in this series. Going to try to get onto an update schedule, stay tuned for that. Another question I get asked a lot is what happened to my youtube channel? You can find more information on that in my 'bio'.  
_

 _I hope you'll all stick with me for the third installment of Rogue Fox._

 _~SyxxFox_

* * *

The first thing that came to his mind was that strange rocking feeling. The feeling of motion. The feeling his body was being lightly knocked from side to side. It felt to Syxx like he was riding in the box of a pickup truck that was bouncing down a dirt road. His memory was hazy, as was his vision. He lifted one of his own arms slowly. He patted one of his paws over his chest. He could feel thick armour plating across his chest, as his gloved paw brushed over it. His body was encased in thick black steel in the form of highly advanced combative armour.

Soon he could start to hear things too. The whistling of an engine and gunfire echoed in his head, seeming far off at first before it drew closer and closer, and the mystic echo disappeared. The last thing that had come to him was his sight. Everything was blurry at first, and it took a long time for the deep blue of the sky to slowly fade into his vision. It didn't add up. Such a beautiful day and he was laying on his back, staring up at the blue sky, watching orange and green plasma tracers flash overhead. That wasn't all he saw though. When his vision cleared up even more, he could see a black and silver figure standing up over him with a weapon raised. It wasn't pointed at him though. Syxx could see an armoured figure double tapping a long trigger. As the shadow pointed the weapon over a low railing, it barked loudly emitting a rough slashing sound and kicking the shoulder of the ghost who was holding it.

Before Syxx could do or say anything, the figure looked down toward him. Syxx could see his own armor that was visible in the scratched silver visor of the being that stood above him. He could see his own reflection, but all there was to look at was a full-face helmet with a black visor, strong shoulder pads and thick armour plating with scratches across it. He looked back at himself as he lifted his paw. He flexed his glove in front of his face, watching the synthetic fabric contour to his hand, while the armour plates hinged across his knuckle.

"Keep breathing! We're almost there!" The shadow that loomed over the black fox spoke; the deep voice of a male and the strangest thing was that Syxx could hear the man smile as he spoke down to him, even though he couldn't see his face.

The black vulpine only had one thing in mind though, as the larger figure loomed over him. The fox reached a paw across his chest, and grabbed his knife. The long and serrated black blade slid with a metallic shimmer, as he pulled it from the sheath on his chest and wrapped his paw around the handle. Before Syxx could do anything, the tall figure grabbed his wrist with an unbelievably strong grip. Syxx clenched his fangs and the armoured figure dropped his weapon altogether, wrapping his other gloved hand around the neck of the fox. Syxx's heart lifted as he felt himself fly backwards, before his back hit something solid, and he came to an abrupt halt.

When he looked up again, the figure had a weapon is his arms. Syxx's heart leapt in his stomach. But the armoured man didn't point it down at the black fox though. The next thing he knew the rifle was airborne flying at him. Syxx caught the black weapon in his paws.

"Same team!" He could hear the man laugh out the words.

Syxx looked down at the rifle in his arms. A short weapon with a squared off barrel, square optic sights that rested on a mounting rail which almost reached the end of the barrel. The square stalk rested down in his arms. It looked like there was something else on it too. There was a square extension on the end of the barrel. A suppressor. He wrapped his paw around the pistol grip of the powerful ACX Special. This was a rifle that had been given to him by Slippy. Slick and small, but yet a full powered battle rifle, and it had already proven its worth to the Slayer. He reached down to the action of the rifle and slid it back. It glided back and forth with a smooth metallic sounding slip.

As Syxx's mind cleared he came to realize the man who was helping him was not Pyro, a Slayer that he had befriended in the years earlier and had later become his best friend, and close brother in arms. The ghost helping him didn't wear the advanced Slayer armour either. As the shadow loomed over him, the dark fox was able to better inspect the armour. While most of it was black, the majority of the plating was silver. Some of it had deep gouges in the metal, and everything was scratched, unlike his own newer and blacked-out suit. There was an emblem on his shoulder too. Though scratched and faded. Syxx could still make it out. A white star. This man was in the older Vortec which was worn, having seen a lot of combat. This was a suit specific to use by a Slayer. It multiplied their strength, and was a complete closed system with its own life support, and thanks to SFX technology, was for the most part, self-repairing. Not just anyone could wear this armour though. It could only be worn by a Slayer. Due to a Slayer's synthetic biological enhancements, they had no danger to wear the armour. Anyone else wearing it could easily be killed by the multiplying factor of the Vortec alone.

The Vortec worn by the man above him had been mutated to have larger shoulder flares, and blades on his forearms, just like Syxx's used to have. The man was taller than Syxx too, with a long and somewhat bushy black tail. The soldier put his back to Syxx again, returning fire from the back of the cargo truck. The voice was somewhat familiar to the vulpine too, his jaw hung open for a moment as he tried to put his finger on it.

Syxx stared up at the soldier, before blurting out his words. "Kurses!?" His voice cracked as he coughed and cleared his throat.

"What's going on back there?!" The reply didn't come from the Slayer though, it came over his headset. Syxx recognized this voice as well. A female and another Slayer. "I got enough problems without you two shaking this thing around! Get along boys! And don't make me come back there!"

"Our guest is awake!"

"Siarra." Syxx said with a little bit of awe.

The reply came back quickly. "Long time and no see, Syxx!"

"Alright!" Kurses chimed in. "If we're going to catch up, let's do it later. Get up and fire your weapon, fox!"

Syxx made his way slowly to his feet, putting an armoured glove on the railing of the transport truck as he struggled to keep his balance. His sharp eyes darted around the passing scenery. Deep, dense and dark forest surrounded them on either side. But that wasn't all. It was like the passing forest was alive with glowing green eyes, tracking them as the truck bounced down the dirt road. The truck was surrounded by Aparoid Walkers. Some were just being run down by the hefty grill of the truck, being sucked under the wheels, and spat out the back end. Other creatures shot at them from the trees, hidden.

Syxx held onto the bars of the transport truck, working his way to the front of the box. He smacked the side of the ACX Battle Rifle, making it click loudly. He positioned himself at the cab of the truck, putting his elbows up on the roof. His finger landed on the trigger. He single fired it quickly, tapping the trigger. Each round found its mark on another Aparoid, as he cleared the road as best he could for the truck, as Siarra busted through the ranks of the Walkers, and Gunners. The vulpine couldn't even hear the weapon as it went off. There was just a subtle flicker of red smoke from the barrel and a metallic clipping sound, which of course was paired along with a hard punch to the shoulder each time that he pulled in on the trigger.

The black fox's ears perked up as he looked the sky. His heart skipped a beat as they looked behind them. The blue sky was speckled with silver and purple dots. Bug-like creatures loomed down over them. The vulpine didn't hesitate to spin around and open fire. He led each shot with his sights, only able to see small sparks fly off the amour of the wide winged creature through his sights. Long blue arms swung out from behind its head, as the large bug screamed at them. Seemingly paper thin wings propelled it toward them. Small sparks pinged off the silver-purple body as the vulpine tracked the fighter in his sights.

Kurses stopped firing his weapon. "Uhh Siarra."

Siarra shifted her arm inside the cab of the whistling army truck. She placed her glove on the side mirror closest to her, looking up into the sky, seeing the darkening horizon, filling with dozens of Aparoid fighters closing in one them. "Whoa."

"Syxx!" Kurses barked his name simply.

The vulpine turned around just in time to sling his rifle on his belt. His other paw caught a massive red and yellow weapon. He held the rocket launcher up and out in front of him before slinging it over his shoulder. A small screen flipped out from the side of the weapon, sitting just in front of his visor. The screen turned bright blue before dimming and clearing up to a grid. Red targets flashed in the display before the targeting system honed in on one of them. Syxx wasted no time in pulling in on the trigger. The rocket jumped from the tube of the launcher, dropping in the air a short distance before another a loud report and blast of red flame exited the rocket, and it took off spiraling in the air, leaving behind red rings of fire in its trail. Kurses fired the trigger to his rocket soon after, and it followed in the fire rings of the first projectile.

The rockets danced and swirled around each other. A large bug like creature screamed as the first rocket slammed into it, knocking it a short ways out of the air. As the second rocket hit, the Aparoids wings folded in around its bulky body, as it went up in smoke and flame. The ground thundered at the impact of the creature. But the Slayers didn't have time to watch, both of the warriors slung down the weapons, sliding new rockets into the chambers and locking them shut. Once loaded the Slayers both loaded the launchers they fired in quick succession again.

Kurses threw down the weapon as the next rocket contacted the Aparoid fighter, making it tumble down to the ground, shortly behind the truck. The impact almost knocked the truck from its wheels, making the rear end jump off the ground. As the back of the truck landed back on the dirt road, the Slayers were thrashed against the deck of the vehicle. As it landed, both Slayers were brought down flat on their backs bouncing to the rear of the box.

Syxx laid down on his back in the cargo box of the truck as a fighter swooped down at them. He reached for his battle rifle, and lifted it up. He pulled the trigger so fast that it sounded like a fully automatic weapon. With a few more shots two small flaps on the side of the rifle opened up letting out a small cloud of red steam around the weapon as it overheated.

The last shot did it though. The fighter screeched as it swooped past them, flying overhead. It hit the ground, a long way down the road in front of them, sending up a cloud of dust, dirt and smoke.

"We don't have the fire power for this!" Kurses barked.

Before anything else could be said, the two Slayers in the cargo deck of the truck were tossed forward. The two men smashed against the rear window on the truck, shattering it, and throwing glass into the cab as Siarra hit the brakes full on. The truck went skidding sideways, coming to a halt just before the deck of a tall bridge. The rear of the cab was dented and bent inward from the force the armoured soldiers smashing into it. Syxx looked over the cab of the truck seeing a river raging below an open gap in the bridge with an Aparoid fighter in a pile of melting steel as smoke encased it.

Siarra jumped out of the cab, slamming the door behind her. "End of the line, boys!" A bushy red tail with a black and white tip following right behind her.

An Aparoid fighter screamed from overhead, diving down low and shaking the ground. Kurses and Syxx jumped out of the back of the truck after throwing Siarra a weapon. When the next fighter swooped down, it grabbed the truck with its arms, forcing it to overturn and tip off the edge of the destroyed bridge. It careened downward to the riverbed blow, falling thirty meters to land on the body of the Aparoid fighter. An explosion of purple mixed with red billowed up from under the bridge, boiling into the sky.

It wasn't long before the Aproids on the ground had caught up them. An infected soldier jumped onto Siarra's shoulders. Syxx watched it all like it was happening in slow motion. A lean, silver feline leaped through the air. It was in a black military uniform, but it was beat up, scratched, and rippled as the tunic was just barely hanging on. There was only one black boot to be seen, while his other exposed foot had six inch long silvery claws, patched with dirt and blood. Its eyes were electric-purple, and lifeless. Fangs protruded from his maw, dripping silvery purple saliva from them. Its teeth were almost as long as the claws. Both of which were oversized and bloody. The feline screamed at the top of its lungs, as saliva shot past its fangs. The jaw seemed to open so wide that it would be dislocated.

Siarra acted swiftly. She arched herself forward and threw the infected marine over her shoulder with one arm, as the other lifted the Mapaw rifle with one arm. She held the full size rifle making it look light as a pistol with one paw. She pulled the trigger twice, sending two rounds through the man's head. Purple blood sprayed onto her silver visor, and the rest of her armour.

Syxx reached over his shoulder, putting a paw on his upper back. He sighed in relief. It was still there. A large black cylinder attached to his back, with silver rings circled around it on each end, glowing soft white. It was something he had almost forgotten completely about; a container that was strapped to him. It limited his movement a little bit, but nothing he couldn't compensate for. It was just like wearing a backpack, even though it weighed as much as he did.

"We'll lose the air-support in the trees! Let's go!" Kurses barked.

The Slayers all leaped over the railing of the bridge in unison, making their way into the forest. The treetops shook and waved in the air above them as leaves and needles rained down on the squad. The trees looked like they were going to topple over on them as screaming bugs flew overhead. The air around them buzzed as Aparoid air support searched for them from above. It felt like the whole army was after them as they filled the sky and the trees around them. Syxx could only make out purple blurs as the ships darted over. He could still pick up the screeching mechanical sounds of their communications over the whistling of the air around the fighters as they dashed low above them. Their only chance was to disappear into the bug infested forest now.

Syxx could hear Siarra speaking right in his ear through the communicator. "Keep weapons fire to a minimum, so we can lose the Bugs. Syxx, take them out with your SD."

Syxx knew that the Slayers trusted his actions and his aim, even though they hadn't seen him in such a long time, and they had abandoned him. Siarra and Kurses almost seemed to ignore the Aparoid walkers, running past them, and letting the black fox take them out one at a time with the supressed weapon. The black vulpine quickly dispatched each bug as the sound of plasma fire drew quieter. The sounds of their air support grew further away too, after a half hour of running into the woods. The Slayers could cover a lot of ground in thirty minutes. It was the sound of their footsteps on the dead foliage that soon became the most prominent sound as the Slayers disappeared into the forest.

With that Syxx holstered the battle rifle at his side, clipping it to his belt. With his other paw, he grabbed the blade of his knife, and pulled it from the sheath on his chest, sliding it out, and rolling it into his gloved paw. He looked up as an infected marine leaped from above. Even with the mass of the large hound looming down upon him. Syxx held out his opposite arm, grabbing the infected by the neck, and throwing him to the dirt. He lifted his boot, and slammed it down onto the hound's head, smashing it into the ground with one swift thrust. The sound of shattering bone crunched beneath his boot.

Siarra's smooth and calm voice echoed in his ear again. "Double time it, Slayers."

As Syxx lifted his head, the two other warriors had disappeared into the forest. His boots skidded on the dirt as he dashed, trying to catch up. It wasn't long before he did; following a trail of demolished Aparoid bodies. The forest was so thick; he could barely see fifty yards through it. The dense Katina mountainous woods were mostly unexplored and uninhabited entirely. As he sprinted up the next hill, he saw the two Slayers encountered by a massive Dragoon. Its arms stabbed into the ground, and pulling back dirt as it hissed at them in a mechanical frequency. Syxx grit his teeth together, as he leaped from the ground, crushing the log with his boot as he was propelled into the air. He spun in air slowly before swinging his leg, contacting the monster right in its head. The impact came with such force that the huge head of the Dragoon mortar came tumbling off, bouncing through the grit. The rest of its body fell suit, landing in a pile of rubble. Its machine-like body went limp like a rag.

Syxx landed just behind it as it fell, falling to his knee, and looking over his shoulder at his swift work.

"Keep moving." The female voice rang.

As the Slayers moved through the forest, the resistance became less and less. The creeping and whistling sound of Aparoid air support soon disappeared altogether. They didn't stop at that though. It was another half hour before the Slayers stopped their running. Even though the forest was dense, it didn't slow the elite warriors. In the part of an hour, the Slayers could cover the distance of what an athletic runner could sprint on an open track. Foliage and branches caved on their armour as they ran through the woods, vaulting over logs and riverbeds below.

The voice that came over the radio was just a little over a whisper, that of a female voice. "Freeze."

At once the Slayers all found cover. Pressing their backs up against trees, in a defensive position, as the sounds of boots and branches cracking stopped all at once. They hung there in complete silence for a solid fifteen minutes listening and waiting. They positioned themselves for complete coverage of the forest, each watching each other's back, with a three-hundred and sixty degree viewing angle of the woods. But everything was silent. Not a sound to be heard except an occasional breeze swooping through the trees and the sounds of small birds chirping in the branches above.

Siarra whispered. "Kurse."

The soldier didn't say anything. He just set his rifle up against the trunk of a tree. Syxx watched and listened as the soldier darted into the forest. He could see the man pressing a small device up into the trunks of trees, emitting a dim white light in the forest, as the evening drew upon them. The dark fox could only see the very slowly dim fading on and off lights in the woods because he was looking for them, otherwise they could be easily overlooked. Syxx's eyes locked on the Slayer as he darted through the woods around them in a wide circle. His armoured glove occasionally patting a tree to plant and arm a small device.

The man made his way back quickly, looking into the forest behind his shoulder as he spoke. "We're only going to get a one-hundred meter scan radius tonight. We've found that the Infected are a little more active during twilight hours. It's worth it to stop. One scream from an infected, will draw in the bugs."

Siarra's helmet dipped down as she nodded. "Once of those bastards screams and you'll have the whole hoard on you. Better to keep movement to a minimum until the daylight hours."

Kurses looked up into the trees. "Sol's just about to set. This is as far as we go tonight."

Siarra turned her head to look at the black fox. "Hey! You gonna' say something or just sit there?!"

Syxx's sharp eyes watched the Slayers. He kept a finger coiled into the trigger on his battle rifle. "I thought the Slayers owned the night." Syxx's eyes glanced back and forth between them. "What're you two doing here?"

Kurses laughed. He threw back his head, resting it on the truck of a tree. He let his back slowly slide down the trunk until he was sitting at the base of it. "I was going to ask you the same thing! I thought you were dead on Corneria. You are the last person I'd thought I'd meet on Katina."

Syxx growled a little bit from the back of his throat. "You abandoned me."

Kurses reply was swift. "You- were on a warpath." He pointed to the dark fox with an armoured glove. "A senseless warmonger that endanger all of our-"

Siarra put up a paw. "That's enough Kurses."

Kurses went silent. He put up a paw, and placed it onto his forearm. With that, his helmet hissed. His armoured glove wrapped around the bottom of the helmet and pulled it off his head. He took a long pant and a deep breath in, as he inhaled a thick breath of fresh air. The Siberian husky ran his gloved paw back through his dark hair. Bright blue eyes seem to almost glow from behind the locks of hair that covered his eyes. He reached behind him, grabbing a beanie hat from an ammo slot on his belt. He wrapped his hair up in the beanie; still letting a few locks of hair just cover his eyes. His face half white with black streaks across it, and a half crescent of under each eye.

Siarra did the same. She put her back to the same tree as the husky, sitting next to him, with her back propped up against the trunk. Her helmet hissed and she lifted it from her head, letting it lay next to her in the dirt. Her hair was long, mixed with black and white as it laid down over one of her shoulders as she brushed it to one side. Her large and luxurious tail rested down between herself and the Siberian husky; mostly red with two black strips across it, half and a quarter of the way down. A black ring surrounded the white tail tip. The vixen had a wide smile across her face, with small hooks of black fur under each of her eyes.

Syxx sat across from them, not too far but not too close. He sat in the silence before taking in a deep breath. He lifted a paw and tapped at the small panel on his forearm. "Command this is Asset Metal Zero-one. Come in." When he let off the switch all he could hear was the mechanical squeal of dead signal.

Kurses smiled. "Don't bother. Way too many Seeders around here. You can get short range, but long range won't work within a thousand clicks of here."

Siarra's ears perked up. "Metal Asset?!" She picked up on the words the vulpine transmitted.

Kurses shot the black vulpine a strange look as well. "Metal Asset. I knew it was too good to be true."

Siarra smirked. "From myth to legend, huh Syxx?"

Syxx glanced at each of them. He lifted his rifle and set it down next to him, leaning it up against the trunk of the tree. "What are you talking about?"

"I guess being the legend, you don't hear about yourself very often." Siarra grinned. "We thought Metals were machine. That's the story of the system. You've only been around for a month but when so many soldiers see you the stories spread fast."

Kurses nodded. "Stories of unstoppable warriors, powerful enough to even take down that Aparoid Monster. The Creature. And the Metal Asset was a Slayer the whole time. I guess its best that no one knows that isn't it?"

Syxx cleared his throat as his ear perked up. "Is that what they say?"

"They say Metal Assets are machine. But now we know you're just as mortal as any Slayer." Kurses grinned. "So still immortal."

The vixen laughed. "Come on my immortal! We don't have much light left!"

Kurses smiled. He reached for his weapon and pulled the rifle against his chest tightly as the darkness started to close in around them. "It'll be dark soon."

Siarra held her rifle in one paw and her helmet in the other as she stood up. She looked around into the tree tops, to see the dark blue sky through the forest. The air filled with a mechanical whistling sound, as Aparoid air support flew by from overhead. The vixen's eyes tracked them through the tree tops as they quickly disappeared.

Siarra stood, staring upward. "They're looking for us. Hup-two, Slayers."

Kurses jumped to his feet. He too looked into the tree tops before slowly walking over to another nearby tree. He set his rifle and helmet down in the dirt and looked over his shoulder. "We sleep in the trees tonight. Find a place and hunker down, and try to get some rest. We'll get to some safer ground tomorrow."

"I'm not going back." The fox simply said.

Kurses looked over his shoulder, staring down Syxx, but he didn't say anything. The husky bent his knees and shot himself up into the air, grabbing the nearest branch that he could, more than twelve feet off the ground. He pulled himself up into the tree tops as Siarra tossed up both of the weapons, and their helmets. Kurses hooked the guns into the tree branches and grabbed the vixens paw as she jumped, pulling her up next to him. They both climbed about half way up the tree, putting them forty feet off of the ground.

Syxx watched them for a moment, and took to his feet. He chose a tree directly across from them and hopped up into it, climbing upward. The bulkiness of his suit with the bomb strapped over his shoulders made it somewhat difficult to maneuver through the branches. He picked a spot at the same height as the other Slayers, finding a place where two branches could be used as armrests while he could lay on the third, a little further below, with his back to the trunk.

When he got to his desired height, he looked across the way. Only a few thin branches separated him from sight of the other two Slayers. Both Kurses and Siarra were laying the same way he was, with their back to the trunk. Their helmets and Mapaw rifles hung on branches within reach of them.

Syxx took in a deep breath as he pulled the release on his helmet. It hissed softly, as he removed it from his head, and hung it on a branch. He didn't let his rifle from his grip though. He kept it in one paw, and lying over his lap. The fox took in another deep breath as he felt the fresh air on his face, hair and ears. After running his paw back through his hair he glanced over at the two other Slayers. They were staring at him. He licked his tongue over his pearly white fangs, including the one silver one. He shot his eyes back at them, as he observed them with his glistening and glowing blue eyes. A lock of his white hair half covered one of his eyes, before the fox ran a paw back through his hair, and slicked it back between his black ears with small white tips. He hung his helmet on a nearby branch.

Siarra's mouth hung open for a little while. "You going to explain the eyes?"

Syxx's eyes were glowing bright blue, with waves of pure silver running through them like liquid veins of crystal. He was possessed by the power of a Krazoa spirit. It infected his very soul. It was something that Krystal, a certain blue vixen he had met on the Planet Sauria some years ago, had infected him with. A lot had happened since then. He had undergone a lot of change since then. So had the Lylat System. Corneria was virtually destroyed, the Aparoids were back, and the most elite warriors were loose in the system, acting on their own free will.

Slayers were the systems most elite warriors. They were trained by Cornerian Military, and then they left. They turned their backs on Lylat. The system's deadliest and most elite warriors were nearly immortal, and now, ran loose in the system while Corneria fought a war against the Aparoids. A war Syxx had started.

The black fox chose to say nothing about the Krazoa Spirt that infected his body. "It's a long story." He paused. "Why did you help me?"

Kurses let his head fall back on the trunk of the tree, letting some of the bark stick back against his beanie as he smiled. "We're still brothers. We always will be. We do a lot of dark things as Slayers."

Siarra finished the husky's thought. "But, we'd never betray another. Because there is no one in the universe that understands us, but the Slayers."

Syxx took a long time to think. "And the others?"

Kurses shut his eyes, still grinning. "They don't harbour any resent to you. If anything, we understand your actions more than anyone. Some wanted to go back and rejoin the military. It wasn't an option though."

Syxx raised an eyebrow. "So where did they go?"

Siarra answered. "It really is amazing that the Cornerian Government thinks that we're suddenly on the brink of extinction just because Corneria is wiped out. Yes, we're in a war, but we always are. They have no idea of the economy that goes on under their noses. Illegal trade, clan wars, black-market. Wiping out Corneria changes nothing. There are still millions if not billions of Lylatians operating under the government's nose. Wolf O'Donnell's operation has grown into an empire. He's a serious military power now. More than just bandits and scum of the system. They're organized."

Kurses nodded. "After the 'nukes' went off, we all stuck together for a while. Soon, we all split up. Some kept together. Others went off on their own. There are Slayers operating freelance, some joined private military companies, bounty hunters, and some just… disappeared back into society. Before we left, we all promised that no Slayer would ever hunt down another. But now, no one will even know if the person they are sitting next to at the bar, is Joe-Blow, or a Slayer."

"No Slayer would ever kill another for a bounty. That was the deal." Siarra added. "Even you're included in that deal."

"There're bounties on Slayers?" Syxx asked.

The husky nodded. "Yours was the biggest. Multimillion."

Syxx pushed his tongue to the inside back of his fangs. "You said 'was'."

"Someone claimed yours." Kurses simply said. "Someone who went by the name of Kursed."

The fox narrowed his eyes at the Husky causing the canine to roll his as he went on. "The name is coincidence. Whoever claimed your bounty sure cleaned up though. Tens of millions."

Syxx held himself back. His fangs were clenched tightly together beneath his closed mouth. He never thought of it like that. He didn't even know there was a bounty on his head. He held so much resent in his heart for his past. He didn't even know how to mentally handle this right now. He was forced to put it to the back of his head, and not say anything.

Siarra smiled. "I see they've outfitted you in some new gear. I don't know how you talked the military into taking you back after what you did. Seems somewhat counterproductive in a way. The only one who can stop the outbreak is the very one who started it. You must know some people in high places, hmm, _Metal-Asset_? Now what the hell would they have you here on this side of the planet for?"

"I could ask you two the same thing." Said Syxx. "You're both on the wrong side of an infected planet."

Siarra answered. "We were scoping out the Aparoid hive. We tried to do a fly-over, and almost got dusted when we started to get close. We had to go in by foot to assess the nest. It's a lot bigger than we thought. There's a force field around it though. We can't get through it."

"But I can." Syxx cut in.

Siarra smiled somewhat suspiciously. She lifted her head, pointing her muzzle to the sky. Her eyes gazed at the vulpine in the tree across from her though. "So that leaves you. And whatever it is that's on your back has something to do with it."

Syxx glanced over his shoulder. "This is a low-yield Photonic Bomb. And I'm here to destroy the Hive."

Kurses and Siarra just stared at him. The said nothing as they leered at him in disbelief. The sounds of the forest grew louder around them, before Kurses blurted out. "What!?"

Syxx repeated himself. "I'm going to the Hive and I am going to destroy it."

Before Kurses could reply, there was a high pitched beeping noise. It sounded like a watch alarm. Siarra looked down at the controller on her forearm, and tapped at it with her gloved paw. "Hostiles. Eighty yards and closing. Shut it down, boys."

Kurses looked about the treetops and around the forest floor. He let out a long and frustrated sigh. "We'll finish this talk in the morning."

Syxx kept his rifle in his arms. His right paw, held around the pistol grip of the suppressed battle rifle. He tipped the gun down to the side, and reached his other arm across the stalk. He pulled the receiver back and let it slide forward with a metallic snap. He let the black and square silencer rest on the nearest branch as the squad of Slayers went silent as they watched, and they listened.


	3. Berserkers

**Rogue Fox Dark Dreams**  
 **Chapter III  
Berserkers  
** _~SyxxFox_

* * *

 _One week earlier…_

A place all too familiar to the lot of them. A dark room, illuminated only by a glowing table surface, casted a blue hue on all the walls, while the chairs around the table casted their own shadows back on the silver walls of the briefing room. An old man, a hare, leaned over the table. One of his tall ears flopped down just to below his eye level, while his eyes darted across the display. The blue light accented his already grayed fur a quick-silver. His body though aging, his eyes were full of energy and wisdom. The badges and gold accents across his black tunic sparkled in the dim blue lighting, as each of his medals, and commendations were accented by the low angle lighting.

"We're here to talk about Fox McCloud. We're here to talk about Project Slayer. We've given information to the Cornerian Army on a need to know basis. We needed to give our forces the information they needed to be able to fight a Slayer. We've all seen firsthand what a Slayer is capable of. We thought that if the army knew what they were up against, at least they would stand a chance." Peppy's voice was deep, and filled with the wisdom of the Great Lylatian Wars. His eyes searched the faces around the table, as his paws laid on the surface, and his body hunched over it.

A beaked man leaned back in one of the chairs. His boots were propped up onto the table with his wings behind his head. His legs were crossed and one boot bounced as he rocked it over the other leg, in apathy and impatience. Dark blue jeans clad his legs as he wore a white v-neck shirt, which was mostly covered by his black leather aviator jacket. Of course, all of this was very hard to make out in such dim lighting. His wing played with his sunglasses as they were propped over his head. "So what's the story Pep?" Falco Lombardi asked casually.

There were a few other faces in the room too. A green toad, in a white lab coat, sat at one end of the table, with his hands crossed over the surface. He twiddled his thumbs together in discomfort for the situation. It was still a sensitive issue. It was still a controversial issue. The disappearance and resurrection of Fox McCloud was still on all of their minds. How could it not be? Lylat's greatest hero, turned into the greatest villain of all time, and now, they were to trust him to save them all? It wasn't easy to get over.

Next to Slippy Toad sat a pink feline in black jeans, with a white tank-top shirt, which was half covered by her pink vest. The pink of the vest matched her fur. Katt Monroe had been a member of StarFalco from the beginning, and had a lot of history with Falco as well. She had befriended the latest member of StarFalco, Krystal.

Krystal was the reason that they were all here. She had convinced herself that she was the cause of this whole mess, but none of that mattered now. She wore almost the same outfit at Katt, except with a black vest that contrasted her luminous blue fur. She rested her snout down on her two paws with her elbows on the table. She lifted a paw to brush some of the hair from her eye, as her blue ear flickered. Her eyes gazed upon the room as her bushy blue tail wrapped up around her own leg in her seat. Her mind and sixth sense drifted from one to another, gathering all their feelings and thoughts. She was a born telepath. She could read thoughts, and sense distress, power, and fear. Lately she had been focusing her powers even more to become mildly telekinetic. It was something limited to her though. She could only imagine what her forefathers could have done, before her home planet was destroyed so many years ago. And before StarFox had taken her in.

Even though she could read everyone's thoughts in the room, and even though she knew what Peppy was about to say, the truth was she was nervous. The little blue vixen cleared her throat. But before she could say anything, Falco piped up.

"I think for us to know what Fox is, we need to know exactly what Slayer is."

Peppy nodded slowly as he rested his head over the table. "That's why we're here." He lifted his elbows from the table and tapped a few buttons next to him. The hologram came to life as what seemed liked hundreds of small flies filled the airspace above the table. They danced in the darkness of the meeting room. The room got twice as bright as the fireflies all compressed down into one. The hologram flashed, and suddenly a video started to play in the air above them. It was like it had been taken from a helmet camera. Long jumps, farther than any warrior could even imagine, and strength beyond comparison as a gloved hand would appear from time to time from below the frame of the screen, to aide in climbing or vaulting over a wall or obstacle. They were running an obstacle course with the strength and speed of a god.

Peppy spoke as the video played. "After the Anglian war… after StarFox disavowed, the Military took the initiative to create a new force. A force that was off the books. Off the record. Candidates were chosen from top ranking soldiers in the Cornerian Army, and from Corneria City Prisons."

"Prisons?" Falco asked.

"Candidates from prisons often didn't have family, and were already dangerous. They had nothing to live for. We had to carefully select them. That's where we found Fox McCloud. Of course, at that point no one knew it was Fox. Everything was kept off book to the public. Even the records we kept are scarce, and most were destroyed along with the surface of Corneria."

"Why though Peppy?" Katt asked. "DNA profiles, hair samples, retinal scans. You could have caught him right away."

"Yes we could have, Katt. Slayer was an off the record program. No paper trail. Project Slayer was an illegal Military program. Mortality rates for Project Slayer were projected to be fifty-percent. They were higher than that."

The video of the obstacle course faded out, and a new one faded in. It was another helmet-cam looking video. This one was different though. A weapon lifted up and starting flashing bright plasma. Heavy metal gloves gripped the weapon, as the soldier ran. Krystal or any of the other members of StarFalco couldn't even see the targets that soldier was locking onto with the sights of the plasma rifle, but just as fast as the rifle fired, men were knocked down. She could hear their cries from the darkness. The Slayer kept pushing forward, easily able to vault up onto single story roofs, and leap down to the other side. The weapon disappeared into the thin air, leaving a waving, and magnifying effect on the air as the Thermal-Optic camouflage was engaged. The Slayer leaped off the roof and down onto the ground landing just behind a soldier. There was an explosion of blood on the screen, when out of thin air a knife appeared in the man's neck while a hand of pure steel was wrapped around the handle, pulling it out. The steel paws, wrapped around the shoulder of the man, and tossed him through the air into the body of another figure that had his weapon raised, knocking them both over. The Slayer swiftly pushed on, like an unstoppable force.

Peppy continued. "A Slayer was designed to be an army of one. And that's what they were. They were issued special weapons, amour, and even aircraft. We made them too powerful. Physical enhancements, bone density increase, muscle enhancements, eye sight increase and neural augmentations to cut reaction time in half. Everything we did was illegal. But it was effective."

"Until you lost control of them." Falco sneered.

The video flashed and the hologram faded, before growing brighter again. Three dimensional blue prints spun in the air, one of a rifle, one of a suit of armour and another of a silver and black fighter, with four wings.

Peppy took a long sigh. "We gave them everything they needed. Weapons. Armour. Shuttles. Training. Since you'll be working hand in hand with the 'Metal Assets'. I'm sure you are aware of most their abilities, and gear. But just in case, Slippy will catch you guys up with their tech."

The toad slowly stood at the edge of the table. "Thanks Peppy." He pointed a hand to the table. "What you see here is old tech. None of this is operational anymore. We can't even locate an F1 Hook Echo. These are the Vortec M1s. Obsolete to the Assets. Each Slayer was issued a Mapaw side arm. One of the most versatile weapons in modern weaponry, this pistol had a forward-grip, and with a few add-ons, could be a full on assault rifle, Light Machine gun, battle rifle and so on. But, The Slayers often found themselves modifying a weapon to their likings and making no changes. For them it was a set and forget thing. Often Slayers had their own combat preference. Assault, sniper, so on… That and their disregard for gear often brought back the Mapaws broken, or with parts missing. It became too expensive to maintain."

Slippy took his paw and slid it across the holo-pad on the table. The holograms shifted. Another suit of armour was displayed. This one was perfect black, with a reflective black visor. This suite was larger. The amour looked thicker, and more modern. The chest was heavily armoured, same with the arms, shoulders, groin, legs, and feet. It made the wearer look like machine; so tall and mighty. The hologram next to the suit was another black object, a squared off rifle. The mounting rail went all the way to muzzle –break on the barrel. The stalk, trigger guard, barrel, optic sights, were all square.

The toad went on. "Their new suits are a Mark II Vortec. You've seen firsthand the capability of these. Nanobots repair the armour during combat. These things are near built to survive re-entry into an atmosphere. They have their own G-diffuser system too. They can take direct weapon fire, without the user being fatally woundened. Their rifle is an ACX Special. It's a full on battle rifle. It fires hardened plasma. Best medium to long range weapon, but if you're a Slayer it doesn't matter. Their side-arms are just a standard issue Blaster. Keep in mind, none of you can use pick up this gear and use it."

Falco huffed. "So if I need their rifle, I can't use it?"

Slippy shrugged. "You could try. An ACX kicks like a bronco though. It's not something you'll be able to easily control. But in a pinch, yeah, you could use it. To you and I, it would be more effective as a sniper rifle. The Vortec is another story. Slayers have physical enchantments that allow them to control the armour better. Without them, it's possible the Vortec could be lethal to the user." He took a long pause. "The Slayers also had special fighters built for them. As far as we know, none of these ships are still operational though. So, let's talk a little bit about their biological makeup."

Krystal watched the hologram fade in the air above the table, and before long another blue lit image came to life. A figure slowly rotated above the table, standing in place. It was the outline of a Lylatian body, not wearing any clothes, yet free of any of the private parts of the male's body. A long bushy tail swung back and forth slowly side to side, looking like a wolf tail, yet the makeup of the body was clearly a tall and broad shouldered Siberian Husky, with a lock of hair covering one of his eyes. It was like he was truly alive. His chest moved in and out with each breath, as he stood in place. An expressionless yet, somehow agitated look crept his expression. He would occasionally shift side to side or spin in place, acting impatient, and crossing his arms over his chest, while his eyes darted around. The hologram acted alive as small text appeared around different places of his body. It labeled his shoulders, legs, eyes, ears, and a few other parts.

Krystal chewed on the inside of her lip a little bit. "What do you mean?"

Slippy pointed at each of the labels on the hologram. "Every Slayers biological makeup was changed during training. They're all genetically altered with things to give them an edge in combat. We'll start with the eyes. Every Slayer has an enhanced amount of rods in their eyes. This increases their scotopic vision greatly. Slayers can see in dark places where you and I cannot. It didn't come without a cost though. This enhancement negatively affected the eye's iris to contract as well as cone development. You may find that a Slayer's eyes are sensitive in extremely high lit areas as well as lack of color depth."

Katt cleared her throat. "So Slayers are colorblind?"

"No. They're not color blind. They can see colors just like you and I, but their world isn't as saturated. They miss out on some color, but they get it back in the dark." The toad took a long pause. "Moving on to the brain. Not much has changed here. The Slayers reaction time to events is cut in half due to some boosters they've received. For example. Average reaction time is two hundred-seventy milliseconds. A Slayer's reaction time is closer to the one-hundred millisecond rate. Which for you means, by the time you realize what is going on, they've already pulled the trigger. Muscle enhancers increase their muscle strength without increasing overall muscle size. They have the strength of a body builder without the muscle profile. It's a Slayer's reaction time and physical strength profile that allow them to operate a Vortec without the suit literally ripping their arm off. Of course this isn't all the modification their body has undergone, but it should give you all an idea of why they act the way they do in situations. You know, since we'll be working so close with them."

The old hare nodded. He took a long pause. "I don't want any of you confusing Fox, with a Lylatian."

"What are you getting at Pep?" Asked the avian.

"Fox did die years ago during re-entry in the atmosphere of Corneria. And maybe we should all feel a little responsible for that. Don't get fooled by this one, 'cause he isn't Fox. A Slayer will play tricks on you. They know how to get what they want. We're still not sure if we can trust him. If the worst is to happen show him no mercy as you will be shown none." The General took a long pause. "I'm not going to lie to you all. Times are looking grim these days. You're all dismissed. We'll meet again tomorrow for preliminary briefing on The Hive. The Metal Assets will be heading the briefing. I know it's going to be tough for you all. Especially you Falco. But you have to listen to them. Apex is the sharpest mind we've got."

Falco huffed out an impatient laugh. "Yeah. Yeah. I got you, Peppy."

* * *

X

* * *

The sounds of air tools, grinders, and torches filled the air around the raccoon's ears. They flickered and slid back as the rough sounds of the shop got louder. He stood on a cat-walk that hung above the shop, with his arms rested over the railing. He tilted his head back and let out a long exhale, sending a stream of smoke into the air above him from between his lips before his paw lifted again, placing a cigarette back into the corner of his mouth. He took another long drag, and breathed out through his nose. The blue smoke –stench stained his tight black tank-top shirt. His black boots tapped at the railing, knocking the metal with the toe of the boot.

He lifted one arm, and ran his paw back through his short dark hair, until his paw reached the back of his neck, feeling a scar there, in the shape of a small square, dead center between his shoulders. His ringed tail swayed behind him, grazing over the metal trusses. The raccoon's arms were strong. He was built fairly well for his lean size. There was something else though. On his upper arm, at the shoulder was the tattoo of a star. It was a nautical star, which was missing the edges of each arm, making each one look more like a bladed. The Black-Blade star, and the mark of the Slayer.

His eyes watched over the sight before him. Technicians worked below him. All of them were in hazmat suits. There were six techs working at once, while others had a desk with multiple computers set up, but they all worked toward one common goal.

A massive figure was hung from the ceiling from its arms. Heavy winch line supported its metal frame upright. It stood over twice the height of any man who was working on it. The limbs flashed sparks as torches and grinders attempted to cut through the metal of the heavy amour. Atop the armour, between the shoulders was the head of a vixen. Small darts of black dashed beneath her eyes, while her mid-length hair covered one of her closed eyes. There was a respirator over her mouth, strapped around the back of her head, while the face-piece covered her maw. The clear mask sat over her snout, filling with condensation with each of her exhales, and disappearing between them. The long and mutated fangs that protruded from her mouth extended down past her jaw, rubbed against the mask with each breath. There were other wires, and clear tubs connected to her head, and her neck, as this so far was the only parts of her that were exposed. The rest of her body was still covered in thick Aparoidian armour. Plates of silver, purple, orange, blank and blue covered her. Her boots were the size of car tires, while one of her arms had a wide shield attached right to it; the size of a transport truck grill.

Pyro took another long drag of the cig, and closed his eyes, as he shifted his head back, letting a jet of blue smoke stream from his lips into the air above his head. He looked through the thick smoke, observing all the armed guards that patrolled the area. Some were stationed lower, on the floor next to the technicians, but some were on other catwalks and railings above. His brain was honed in to size each one of them up. Their weapons, their position, and even lines of sight all came into play. Of course he knew that he was in no danger of being attacked by any of the patrol men and women, but it was his sharpened combative skill set that automatically analyzed the situation.

"Pyro."

The man's ears perked as he heard his name being called. He was familiar with the voice already. "Krystal." He replied without looking at her. While his muzzle pointed at the ceiling, his eyes watched the technicians at work. His paw curled up into a knuckle. His thumb, flicked the butt of the cigarette over the railing, having complete disregard for where it landed, below. "I figured you'd be in debriefing for quite a while. Especially after what happened."

The raccoon's ears perked as something was laid over his shoulders. It was a black leather jacket. The voice of the vixen grew to a hiss in his ear. "Keep that thing covered!"

The raccoon rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows that a Slayer can be identified by this tattoo. You just wait. Soon it's going to be a part of the culture. Guys will be doing it just to look _cool_."

"Keep it under wraps around here. You know the deal. You're a Metal Asset now, so forget all the Slayer stuff." Krystal stood near the edge of the railing a few feet away from the raccoon. Her tail flowed idly behind her, hovering just off the metal grating.

Pyro smiled as he shut his eyes. "Ahhh yes. Metal Asset. Just the way of the Army to cover us up. Just to make everyone else think that we're just robots, or AIs. That code name suits me and _The Dark One_ , don't you think? But you don't care about us, right? Especially him. Lucky for you, Syxx can't be killed."

She would be lying if she said that Pyro wasn't getting on her nerves. He had a way of doing that. The way he acted around Syxx was so much different than the way he acted toward her. Krystal let out a long sigh as she changed the subject. "How is she doing?" She asked, but she couldn't tell if she genuinely cared or not, and that worried her. The vixen rested her arms down on the railing as she watched.

Pyro shrugged. "Stable. For now. PET imaging shows her body is intact under all that, and look," He pointed his paw forward. "RAM plating. This isn't just Aparoid armour. That's the plating they used on her old suit! This is a mutated Vortec. It all makes sense. Her speed. Her cunning. Her absolute raw power. You guys were fighting a berserker of a Slayer!"

"All Slayers are berserkers."

He huffed, and shook his head slowly. The raccoon managed to grin. "You guys are lucky Syxx and I were here. She could have ripped this entire base apart."

Krystal snapped back. "We would have bombed it."

Pyro's reply came just as fast. "You and your team would have been in the meat grinder! See that blade?!" He pressed his tongue to backs of his fangs, as his mouth hung open a little bit. He looked at the weapon in awe. "Just imagine how many lives that sword has taken. Nothing but a Slayer could bring another Slayer to complete stop. You lucked out!"

"Why are you being so hostile?!"

Pyro bit on the bottom of his lip and let out a long sigh. "Sorry. Sorry. This is just a lot to handle right now. This whole thing has just got me on edge. One of my best friends is in surgery with plasma cutters and grinding wheels, while we're prepping for an assault on the heart of the Aparoids."

Krystal examined the armour from head to toe. She stared at the face of the red vixen. Krystal tried to enter her mind, but there was nothing there. There was nothing for her to see, read, or feel. The fox's mind was empty. "What's going to happen when she regains consciousness?"

"That all depends. Her mind is still active. Won't really know until her eyes open if she's as sharp as ever or… a grapefruit."

"Why would you put it like that?!"

"Hey, I thought that was a considerate way to put it. I had another word in mind that I could have used."

Krystal's voice trailed off in frustration. "What about Fox?"

"Syxx." Pyro reached into his pocket, and opened a small metal case as he corrected her. He pulled out a small white dart, and placed the brown end of it into his mouth. He tucked the case back into his pocket, and pulled out an old scratched up lighter with the same paw. He flicked the cover open with his thumb, which then rolled the striker over the flint. He spoke with the cig hanging from the corner of his mouth. It threatened to fall out with every word he said, but it never did. "Syxx, is the same place he's been the last two days. Combat Training."

The vixen growled. "Why isn't he here?"

"Because Syxx had to watch her die once already. He's not going to be able to handle that again if she takes a turn for the worse." The raccoon lit his cigarette, and let out a quick puff of blue smoke toward the blue vixen.

Krystal coughed a few times as a cloud of smoke washed over her face. She gave the man a look of disgust. "What happened?"

"When the Cornerian Army sent for us on Sauria, and we mounted our counter offensive, she piloted the ship to drop Syxx off on the Great Fox. She wanted to wave off, but Syxx kept telling her to get him closer. Syxx jumped and made it to your flag-ship, but she couldn't wave off in time. One of your team mates shot her down and by the time we reassembled her ship was just sheet metal. Her transponder was nonresponsive. We were sure she was dead. But I guess she wasn't. The Aparoids took her." Pyro took a long drag from his smoke. The tip flared bright orange. "The point is, Syxx doesn't have the patience for sensitive issues. Let him vent. Let him shoot it out. He'll come back. And as long as she's fine, he will be too. Until then, don't bring it up."

"He would rather do that, than be here?!"

"Look, you might know Fox. That's fine. I know Syxx." He sighed impatiently. "You know what? Why don't you tell me? You're a telepath, right? Tell me what he's thinking right now."

The vixen growled back at him. She knew she couldn't. She had been having a hard time reading Syxx's thoughts. She could detect him. She could sense him. But she couldn't read his mind, not like everyone else's. Krystal's tail flicked with impatience.

Pyro smirked back at her, knowingly. "I know you can read my mind, but I know you can't read his. The reason he isn't here, is because he refuses to believe that she is back, yet. If she makes a full recovery, he should come around."

The vixen raised an eyebrow. "Should?"

"Should." Pyro replied simply.

Krystal took a long sigh as she looked over the railing at the face of the mutated and now sabre-toothed fox. She could feel her heart wrenching. "He loves her." She wasn't sure if she was asking a question or making a statement.

Pyro just let out a shrug, while his paws opened. He struggled to find an answer. "Uhhh, I… uhhh… sure. I don't know."

The vixen didn't like how the answers that she received made her feel a little better. Krystal closed her eyes, hanging her shoulders over the railing a little.

Pyro closed his eyes as he spoke. His head leaned over, as he hunched his back. "I know you don't like it. I know you have history together, but her," He pointed his paw at the red vixen encased in the metal prison of amour. "You need her."

"I haven't seen either of you two get a wink of rest since we got here. Do you even sleep?!"

Pyro smirked as he looked over the workshop. "We don't need the seven to nine hours per night that you do. We're fully charged on three. You won't see us sleep. But, if you have something go tell Syxx, go tell him. Just don't talk to him through me."

They both stood there silently for a long while. Pyro took long drags of the smoke, as the air around them filled with the sounds of power tools. Again, carelessly, the raccoon flicked the butt of the cigarette away onto the workshop floor below. He rolled his eyes and grinned. "Come on ' _girly_.' Let's go find dark-fox."

"I couldn't imagine you in a room with Falco…"


End file.
